Hello,
Koetsu seems to be back on the market.
I would be interested by the Rosewood Signature.
What do you think about the compatibility with the ARO?
I listen actually with a SPU N on a Phonosophie P3 with Superline / Supercap.
Thank you in advance,
Br
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The Koetsu is a medium compliance cartridge. It will likely sound OK with the ARO II but is better suited for medium mass tonearms like the Kuzma.
I have a Koetsu Rosewood (not Signature) I acquired in damaged form and plan to retip it for possible use on a Clearaudio Tracer tonearm, but the arm is lower mass (i.e. 10g effective mass) and I donāt expect it to be an optimal combination. I also have a DV XV-1s for the tonearm that is just about a perfect match.
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Thanks your answer.
If I understand right the ARO isnāt the best match for the Koetsu.
But I like bothā¦
The warm sound of this cartridge and the expressivity and vivacity of the ARO.
Perhaps I will stay for a while with the SPUā¦
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It would certainly be worth trying, even though Iām not sure whether it would be a particular good match.
Being a Unipivot, the ARO can usually deal with a fairly wide range of compliances - even low -ish compliance carts like the DL-103 and SPU - especially if you have the heavy as well as the standard counterweight. The stylus tip to mount distance may be a bit wide of optimal, and I donāt know how much leeway you get with the P3 at the armboard end.
I have a Koetsu Black that Iāve long meant to try on the ARO but never got round to doing so - I would be interested in your experience.
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Thanks for your answer Richard.
I will think about these informations.
And if I do the experiment, Iāll come back!
One thing is sure, it should sounds better as the SPU which is already a good musical cartridge.
The SPU seems to match perfectly with the ARO.
I really enjoyed the SPU Royal N on the ARO, although the heavy counterweight was needed as well as a little extra weight for the bias.
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Hi Jacques,
I had my Urushi on an Aro for several months and thought it worked well there. Like Richard Dane said, you have to go with the heavy counterweight for a Koetsu.
Martin Colloms, the well known critic, had a Red as his standard cartridge on his Aro for many years, too.
Thanks for your answers!
Hi Mulberry,
I will check the counterweight question.
But I think it should be ok on this side.
Could you explain your own choice about the Koetsu cartridge and especially why you choose an urishi one?
Iām interested in the Rosewood Signature one because I know this cartridge is not only musical but softer than for example the Hana Red.
If youāre running an SPU N youāre either a fair way off optimal overhang or youāve adjusted P to S for the Aro. I made a new arm board to use my SPU Royal N on my Aro and got pretty good alignment to UniDIN geometry when checked with a Smartractor.
The Aro is a bit on the light side however, shame there isnāt a brass spacer available for the SPU Ns (there were some made in Japan I think).
There was a member of the old forum who had a Koetsu and a DV XV1(s or t) with an Aro and an SME, I forget the deck. I think his handle was Graham something or other but when I try to access the archive I get a message
āSQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] Connection refusedā
I do remember him growing increasingly fond of the Koetsu but not which cart finished on which arm.
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I had a special armboard made by Loricraft for the ARO so that there was adjustment that could be made.
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Super nice photos!
Thanks for these informations!
Hi Jacques,
I already had the Urushi for several years when I got my Aro. If I hadnāt come across a new old stock Graham Series 2.2 arm, which is my favorite tonearm, I would probably have these two on my turntable.
When I bought the Urushi it had a little more finesse than the Rosewood Standard, but both were lovely. The little difference and the gorgeous finish were enough for me to go for the Urushi.
Hi Mulberry,
Very interesting!
Which Urushi did you have?
Actually, I think about those cartridges:
-keeping my SPU Nš
-Koetsu Rosewood Signature
-Koetsu Urushi but which oneā¦
Vermillon red?
-Etsuro Urushi Cobalt or Bordeauxā¦
My sound preference would be for the Rosewood.
You can take a look here:
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Thank you
When I had two LP12s with Aro as the arm, I had the Urushi on one and the Dynavector XV-1s on the other. Iāve since sold the LP12 with the Urushi. My memory is the Urushi with the Aro was very enjoyable. Sound was warmer and with more body compared to the Dynavector
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Thank you!
Thatās very interesting because what Iām looking for is a sound with body, richnessās but for sure enough groove too.
Why did you finally keep the Dynavector?
@Jacques135 Do you get any mis tracking with your SPU? I get the occasional bit with my Royal N on louder transients and itās the only thing Iād want to improve on.
These days Itās mounted on my Schrƶder Reference and loaded with 160Ī©, which revealed another layer of subtlety compared to the 220Ī© I used for the first few years. Into my supercapped superline swing, orchestral scale and colour, piano tone and body are all exemplary, as much as passive NBLs can reveal anyway and since mounting it on an idler drive deck it no longer over tames Metallica as it did on my Artemis SA-1.
Iāve been playing with the vinyl front end a bit these last couple of years.
The relaunched Koetsus are available in France from Ana Mighty Sound, which is run by a very enthusiastic chap called FranƧois, through whom I had a Transfiguration Proteus rebuilt (which now sits on my Aro but is not used much). FranƧois lists the Vermillion at ā¬8280 the Rosewood Signature is the ācheapestā listed at ā¬6600, they seem to have gone up a bit, at least here. The stone bodies and the lower end models are absent at the moment.
If you end up getting a Koetsu keep us posted.
Me too!
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